Members of The Town & Country Garden Club gathered one recent morning at one of three traffic islands the club maintains in the center of town, where they quietly celebrated the addition of a new bronze plaque financed through a grant from Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (NCAC).

Three members of the garden club visited Island Two, the small triangle space at the intersection of Queen Street and Glover Avenue, to place a bronze plaque at the base of “Flintstone Gearbox” on May 10. The sculpture by former Newtown artist and resident Ethan Currier was installed in September 2019 to anchor the small island. Thanks to a $1,000 grant from The National Garden Club, the club that year was able to transform the small patch of land at the busy intersection from a basic triangle to what the club now calls A Woodland Garden.

Club President Chris Lincoln was joined by members and Island Two Co-Captains Jane Sharpe and Peggy Townsend in admiring the new arrival. The plaque has been added to the base of Currier’s sculpture, which was installed on the eastern side of the island.

The sculpture previously lived in the center of a pond at Sticks and Stones Farm on Huntingtown Road, long owned by the Currier family.

Town & Country Garden Club was one of three 2023 NCAC grant recipients. The garden club’s grant was applied for by Sharpe, who said in the application that the funds would be used for the bronze plaque.

NCAC Chair Laura Lerman joined the garden club members on May 10.

“The grants were for local groups to create or replace signage on public locations,” she said. “The groups all bring art to town, and we support that.”

When the grant awards were announced last year Lerman also noted she and other members of the local arts commission were “especially pleased that we have reached creative communities, eg, the garden club community, that we haven’t heard from before.”

Local artist Paula Brinkman was awarded a grant to replace coroplast signs at the Doors of Newtown outdoor art project at Fairfield Hills with permanent metal signs. Her grant also included funds to cover water-based polyurethane for each of the eight doors as part of upkeep needed for the outside art.

EverWonder Children’s Museum received a grant to create uniform signage at its new permanent home at 11 Mile Hill Road.

Town & Country Garden Club also maintains Traffic Island 1, at Queen Street and Church Hill Road; and Traffic Island 3, Glover Avenue at South Main Street.

Perennial Plant Sale Planned

The Town & Country Garden Club will present a Perennial Plant Sale on Saturday, May 18, from 10 am-2 pm, on the front lawn of Cyrenius H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

Readers are invited to take advantage of the many years of experience and many lessons learned by the members of the 60-year-old garden club. Reasonably priced plants nurtured with love and divided to share, with all necessary information and instructions on planting and care, will be available.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.